1. Field
The described embodiments relate generally to a display device, and more particularly, to a flexible window substrate capable of being bent, or expanded and contracted, by an external force, and a flexible display device having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A display device is a device that visually displays data. Generally, the display device, which is generally used as one of the output devices of a computer, is a device that displays results on a screen so that a user is able to directly see the results processed by the computer with their eyes. A kind of display device includes a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode display (OLED), an electrophoretic display (EPD), and the like. As display devices have evolved, the display device is not limited to function as an output device of the computer, but has also been variously applied to a television receiver, portable communication devices, wearable electrode devices, and the like.
Among the display devices, a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting diode display, an electrophoretic display, and the like, which may be manufactured with a module having a flat panel shape, may easily implement a large, thin, and light display device, and as a result, these displays have taken the lead in the display industry. Further, a flexible display device that may be bent, rolled, or stretched as a whole by adopting a flexible or stretchable material as a material of a substrate has been developed.
Meanwhile, a touch screen panel has been developed as an input scheme, which may replace other input schemes, such as a mouse and a keyboard, so as to directly input information to a screen using a hand or a pen. Any user may directly perform their desired works/inputs while seeing a screen of the touch screen panel and operating the touch screen panel. Accordingly, the touch screen panel has been evaluated as a useful input scheme under the graphical user interface (GUI) environment, and is currently widely used in various fields, such as a control screen of mobile phones, tablet computers, various kinds of medical equipment, and an information display for guiding a bank, a government office, a tourist, and main institutions. The touch screen panel is used by being combined with a flat panel display, such as a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting diode display, or a flexible display device.
Although the touch screen panel is applied to the flexible display device, a window layer at an outermost side of the flexible display device has flexible characteristics, and therefore, a surface of the window layer may be more easily damaged by a contact of a hand or a touch pen due to the window layer's characteristics. However, when the window layer is made of a rigid material to reduce or prevent damage to the surface of the window layer, the flexibility of the display device may decrease.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the described technology and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.